It was a long time coming, but Anthony Pettis likely punched his ticket on Saturday night.

With a devastating first-round TKO of Donald Cerrone (19-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC on FOX 6 that earned him a $50,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus, Pettis (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) appears to have put himself next in line for the lightweight title.

The bout was part of the main card of UFC on FOX 6, which took place at United Center in Chicago.

Pettis landed a big kick to the body that crumpled Cerrone, and he then quickly pounced to land two quick shots on the ground for the TKO win over his fellow former WEC standout. After the fight, UFC President Dana White said Pettis moved to the front of the pack to await the winner of April’s title fight between champion Benson Henderson and former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.

Although that puts the timetable for Pettis’ shot at the belt to late summer at the earliest, he said he will wait for his shot and not take another fight in the meantime.

Full highlights now are available for the fight, which aired live on FOX following prelims on FX and Facebook.

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